‎♪♫ I’m beautiful in my way,
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way.
Don’t hide yourself in regret,
Just love yourself and you’re set
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way. ♫♪
by Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (a.k.a. Lady Gaga)
I heard this again this morning in a shuffle-mix of my somewhat eclectic collection of music. It probably comes up more often than most because it has been listened to more than most…or it could be that I have downloaded three different mix versions of this song. How does a boomer generation HR dude get hooked on Lady Gaga? I don’t really know…or even why I keep using the word “dude.†What I do know is that the message in this song speaking to us about the equality of all people needs to be broadcast until it finally sinks in.
Working in HR is sometimes a challenge because diversity is often given lip service by management and it is usually up to us to protect company interests without allowing discriminatory action because of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, age and a number of other classes which may or may not be protected. This brings me to my definition of the word “discrimination.†As stated, it is not a four letter word (I counted), but obviously when the meaning is given the sterile dictionary definition it is not a bad thing. It is simply making a decision for or against something. It is synonymous with judgment. When I got up this morning, I discriminated against all breakfast choices except for Cheerios. I could have added sliced banana, but instead I showed favoritism to some sprinkles of Craisins and skim milk. We all have decisions to make every day that requires us to discriminate against something in favor of an alternative choice. When you got dressed this morning, you made a conscious choice regarding what you were going to wear. It is not a bad thing to leave your other choices in the closet. If we say that someone has “discriminating taste†it generally means that they make good choices for the finer things in life. So it seems that evil “discrimination†is a relative thing.
Why is the word seen by most people as having a negative connotation? In all probability it is because we have all felt that as a person we have been the victim of some form of unfair discrimination in our lives. A person does not have to be born into a minority group to experience this. I was born white, male and American, however as a single custodial parent raising two children I experienced discrimination at work, in my personal life, and even at church. Perhaps I was being taught how these actions hurt. The bad version of discrimination is when there is “disparate treatment of a person or class of persons†based on a bias that is illegal, unethical or immoral. The lines get blurred between the types of treatment which are against the law or just plain not nice, so we begin to think of all discrimination by definition to be illegal. It is not. Ethics and morals are too subjective to be a measure of absolute right or wrong even though there may be generally accepted behavior which can result in a right or wrong choice.
There are two aspects of our persona which determine who we are. One is described in the song and refers to how we are “born†based on the fact that some things cannot be altered by choice. Lady Gaga sings, “I was born this way†and Thomas Jefferson penned, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…†The second aspect of us as a person, and not addressed by Gaga and Jefferson, is what we “become.†Following on the logic that “God makes no mistakes†and that people “…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,†we can take that gift of creation in us and do with it what we please. We are born that way and nobody has the right to take it from us. Overlooked in this logic is what we become through changes that are not under our control. A good example is that you may be born with a certain gender and race, but you are not ageless. Governments can impose laws that declare when you are old enough to legally have certain rights as an individual. Society in general can declare you obsolete at a certain age because you are too old. Poverty and other economic situations are worldwide conditions that impact people without regard for their birthright or use of initiative. For the most part, illness and disease do not choose targets based on our created form but attacks all without prejudice. If we sincerely believe in equal rights, then discrimination against people who become old, poor, sick or otherwise disadvantaged is wrong.
With apologies to Lady Gaga, I would like to propose an alternative ending. In my humble opinion, the refrain should not be only about how we were born:
♪♫ I’m on the right track, baby
I became this way. ♫♪
Album Cover by Nick Knight and The Haus Of Gaga 5 †23 †11 (http://twitpic.com/4lelv6)
This reminds me of an activity I used when teaching Diversity to new employees. The purpose was not showing how different we are, but how much we are alike. No reference was made to gender, race, or other EEOC no-nos. Instead, after observation of the students, I used questions about hair & eye color, glasses & contacts, birthplace, eduction etc. I used questions that were meant to include ALL (or as many as possible) of the students. We would then discuss the fact that we can be just as much equal as we are diverse. Like you, I never thought Lady Gaga’s music would appeal to me, but I agree that there is some truth to her words. Thanks for keeping this in our minds,
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